Sunday, May 29, 2022

Princess Amelie weds Benedict Schmid von Schmidsfelden

The newlyweds


HSH Princess Amelie of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and Benedict Schmid von Schmidsfeldem were married yesterday at the Stiftskirche in Wertheim.   The princess is the second of three children of Ludwig, Prince of Löwenstein-Werthem-Freudenberg and Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg-Wolfsegg

Princess Sophie, Countess Konstantin von Babenhausen and her younger daughter

The Hereditary Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg and his mother, Elisabeth, Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg

The Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg with her elder daughter, Princess Sophie who is married to Count Konstantin Fugger von Babenhausem





All of the above photos @Stefan Sohn.  


Amelie's younger brother, Hereditary Prince Ludwig will marry Helene von Petzold in 2023.


Amelie and Benedikt,  This photo and the ones that followed were taken by another friend.

from the Poltenabend: the Hereditary Prince and his fiancee. Helene von Petzold

The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Leiningen

The Prince and Princess of Bentheim-Tecklenburg

The Prince and Princess of Hohenzollern.  On the right in the back, the Hereditary 
                    Count of Koenigsegg-Aulendorf\
Prince Paul Esterhazy.  Prince Ferdinand of Schwarzenberg is facing the cameras

The Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg







Duchess Marie of Württemberg



On the right, the Landgravine and Landgrave of Hesse



The couple's witnesses were Joana  Ledebut de Antas de Campas, Princess Theresa zu Leiningen, Countess Victoria Rechberg, Margarete Schücking, Freiherr Thomas von Riederer, Count Alexander of Thurn-Valsassina,  and Count Vincenz of Waldstein-Wartenberg

Princess Amelie was attended by Camilla Kretschmer, Isabelle  and Alexander Lamezan-Salina, Sophia and Nikolaus Schmid von  Schmidsfelden.

The guest list included members of Germany's former princely and noble families including The Prince and Princess of Hohenzollern, Princess Alexandra of Hohenzollern, Prince Michael and Princess Dagmar of Saxe-Weimar, Duchess Marie of Württemberg, Duke Christian and Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg, Prince Joachim Albrecht and Princess Angelina of Prussia\, the Prince and Princess of Ysenburg and Büdingen, the Prince and Princess of  Hohenlohe-Bartenstein,  the Prince and Princess of  Leiningen, the Hereditary Prince and Princess of  Leiningen, Count Heinrich zu Ortenburg,  the Prince and Princess of Quadt, the Prince of Castell-Rüdenhausen, the Prince and Princess of Reuß, Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck,  Prince Otto of Castell-Rüdenhausen, the Landgrave and Landgravine of Hesse,  Hereditary Prince Paul Anton of Esterhazy, Prince and Duke Pierre of Arenberg, Count Eberhard zu Erbach-Erbach,  Constantin von Brandenstein-Zeppelin,  Count Leopold von Gudenus, Count Joseph and Countess Sophie of Schaesberg, Hereditary Count Philipp of Königsegg-Aulendorf, Count Franz and Countess Gustava zu Ortenburg, Count Hubertus and Countess Stephanie of Waldburg zu Wolfegg, the Prince and Princess of Bentheim-Tecklenburg, Duke Christian and Duchess Caroline of Oldenburg, among others.


The bride and her father were driven to the church in a 1942 Packard Clipper.  The Lutheran wedding ceremony, which included selections from Handel's Water Music,  was officiated by Dean Wibke Klomp and Pastor  Herbert Graeser.     In her homily, Deam Klomp advised the bride and groom: "We wish you God's love, and that he will protect and advise you. And discover again and again what a treasure was entrusted to each other today."

The Franconian Heralds lined up outside the church to serenade the couple and their guests as they emerged from the church.    They also escorted the bride and groom through the town, where shoppers and others watched and waved as the bride and groom walked by, waving back.

The guests boarded a ship, Mozart, to travel across the Main River to Schloss Kreuzwertheim.  The bride and groom got back into the Packard Clipper and were driven back to the castle.

The reception was held on the castle grounds following the wedding.  In the evening,  Princess Amelie's parents hosted the formal "bridal soiree" where 250 guests enjoyed a menu that featured wild salmon, pink roasted beef filet steak with seasonal vegetables, potatoes au gratin, truffle ice cream, and chocolate cake a la Amelie.

The decor, including the floor, was pink, the bride's favorite color.

The Poltenabend (Bavarian evening) was held at the Schloss the night before the wedding.  Most of the guests, including the bride and groom, wore dirndls and lederhosen.

HSH Amélie Anastasia Sylvia Alexandra Ruth Elisabeth of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg was born in Wertheim on August 15, 1990.   Benedikt is the youngest child of Wieland Schmid von Schmidsfelden und Elisabeth von Lennkh zu Burgheim und Gansheim.  He was born in Vienna on May 27, 1991.

The couple's civil marriage took place on June 4, 2021, in Werthteum's town hall.  The religious wedding was originally scheduled to take place on May 29, 2021, but was postponed due to Covid restrictions.

Their engagement was announced on June 3, 2020.

Amelie and Benedikt live in Munich.  She works in asset management for a private Swiss bank and Benedikt is one of two managing directors of an automotive supplier in Bad Reichenhall.

Thank you, Stefan and my other friend for allowing me to use your photos.   The copyright remains with the photographers.  You can see more on Stefan's Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/royaltravelevents/?hl=de

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Marlene,
what a nice report on the wedding. Do you allow me a correction/explanation?
The night before a wedding traditionally the affianced couple invite their friends to what is called in German the "Polterabend". it's not a Bavarian evening or even a Bavarian only customs, in Germany any couple might celebrate the last night of their being just affianced with friends. It's a bit like the stag or hen do, but all genders together.
The German Wort "poltern", which gave the evening its name, means to make noise. Here, the guests make a lot of noise by trashing old glassware or porcellan etc. they brought with them for the evening (though the bridal couple provides some for those guests who didn't bring their own). it's to get rid of the bad (and uninvited) ghosts, so they may not give bad wishes on the actual wedding day. That the guests at this wedding wore Bavarian "tracht" - traditional wear, Lederhosen and Dirndls) is okay as it is a quite informal feast and the bride is from Bavaria. But you wouldn't wear that in the North of Germany eg.
Hope this explains it a bit more.

Marlene Eilers Koenig said...

thanks The local paper referred to it as a Bavarian evening